3vuc  dj  W- J- 


C  . 


Vol.  3.]  APRIL,  1874.  [No.  28. 

THE  AMERICAN 


[HI 
ilSli 


HISTORICAL  RECORD, 

AND  REPERTORY  OF 

NOTES  AND  QUERIES 


jigi     CONCERNING  THE  HISTORY  AND  ANTIQUITIES  OF  AMERICA 
U  AND  BIOGRAPHY  OF  AMERICANS. 


Hli 


EDITED  BY  BENSON  J.  TOSSING,  LT.D.; 


H! 


PHILADETPHIA: 

JOHN  E.  POTTER  &  COMPANY. 

No.  617  Sansom  Street. 


HlHHHBHHHlBHHHHHHHHHIHHHlHHHHBHffli 

Terms — four    dollars  per  ye.a.r.  in  advance. 


CONTENTS. 


\'KV,V 


Philip  Livingston.        -                 -                   -               .  .                 .                  i^c 

How  Japan  was  opened  to  the  Commerce  of  the  World,  -                                            148 

The  Fabricated  "  Virginia  Resolves,"         -                -  .                .                 ,  m 

The  Military  Expeditions  to  the  North  West,  No.  IV.,  -                 -                          155 

Non-Importation  Agreements,      -                 -                 -  .                 -                  iry 

Theophilus  Whale,                -                 ...  .                 .                          160 

.\  Chapter  on  Church  Organs,     -                 -                 -  -                 -                  161 

Monument  on  King's  Mountain  Battle-Ground,  -                -                         170 

Washington's  Qrderly  Books,       -                -                •  -                -                 171 

Notes  and  Queries,               -                -                -          .  -                -                         177 

Autograph  Letters,       -                -                -                -  -                -                 181 

Societies  and  their  Proceedings,           -                -  -                -                         185 

Current  Notes,              -                -                -                -  -                                 189 

Obituary,              -                -                -                -  -                -                         190 

Literary  Notices,         -                -               -               -  -                                191 

ILL  USTRA  TIONS. 

Portrait  of  Philip  Livingston,     -                -                -  -                -                 145 

The  Old  Virginia  Capitol,                   -                -  -                 -                         150 

Burns's  CofTee-House  in  1765,     -                -                -  .•                 -                 158 

Monument  on  King's  Mountain  Battle-Ground,  -                -                         1 70 

Iron-clad  Gun-Boat  in  1814,       -               -               -  -               -                177 

FAC  SIMILE  AUTOGRAPHS. 

Henry  Clay,                  -                -                -                -  -                 171 

Ethan  Allen,        -                -                -                -  -                -                         180 

Ira  Allen,      -                -                -                -                -  -                -                 180 

James  Livingston,                 -                 -                 -  -                 -                          183 

Joseph  Loring,              -                 -                 -                 -  -                 -                 183 

Benjamin  Franklin,  Samuel  Chase,  Charles  Carroll  of  CarroUton,     -  18/, 

Robert  Magaw,             -                -                -                -  -         '       -                185 


AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  RECORD. 


i6i 


THE   AMERICAN 

HISTORICAL  RECORD. 


Vol.  3. 


APRIL,    1874. 


No.  28. 


jvem.     n.  lunner  account  01  vvnaiy  is  con- 
tained in  the  following  extract  : — 

"  Whaly  was  quickly  wont  to  obey  the 
commands  of  his  masters,  especially  such 
in  whose  service  he  might  expect  to  receive 
good  wages ;  forthwith  drawing  out  his 
men,  amongst    whom  was  some  boys,  all 


vvnaie,  wno  seicieu  ai  i>aiiiiga,iibCL,  num 
Virginia,  in  1678  or  '79;  that,  instead 
of  being  a  refugee  from  the  axe  of  Charles 
II.,  he  took  refuge  in  Narraganset  to  es- 
cape the  halter  of  Gov.  Berkley. 

M.  D.  G. 
Montpelicr,  Vt.,  Feb.  1874. 


A   CHAPTER   0J>}  CHURCH  ORGANS. 


The  Record  i?  indebted  to  Professor  W.  J.  Bruce 
for  the  following  paper  :• 

Prefacing  a  letter-  written  by  Mr.  AVil- 
liam  Shrigley  to  Hon.  James  Ross  Snow- 
den,  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  His- 

'  In  a  letter  to  the  editor,  Professor  Bruce  says : — 
"When  I  read  Mr.  Shrigley's  letter  in  the 
Record,  I  determined  to  investigate  the  subject 
somewhat,  feeling  certain  that  among  a  mass  of 
undigested  matter  packed  away  on  my  shelves,  I 
had  something  relating  thereto.  Months  slipped 
away,  and  in  the  pressure  of  other  and  more  para- 
mount duties,  the  pleasant  task  was  neglected. 
Finally  I  sat  down  to  the  labor  and  have  been  well 
rewarded  for  my  trouble.  Among  the  material, 
stowed  somewhat  carelessly  away,  I  found  an  odd 
volume  of  the  Nezv  England  Magazine,  from  which  I 
have  prepared  a  record  of  some  things  which  would 
otherwise  be  soon  forgotten,  and  which  may,  pos- 
VOL.   III.— II 


torical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 
subject  of  the  Church  Organ  at  Winches- 
ter, New  Hampshire,  which  appeared  in 
the  Record  for  March,  1872,  the  editor 
says : — 

"  The  subject  is  an  interesting  one,  and 
it  is  hoped  will  elicit  other  communi- 
cations, not  only  in  relation  to  the  earliest 


sibly,  hereafter,  be  deemed  of  more  consequence 
than  they  are  at  present. 

"  I  take  no  credit  to  myself  for  originality  or  re- 
search, except  to  verify  as  far  as  possible,  the  au- 
thor's statements.  My  labor  has  been  simply  to 
coHate  from  the  article  its  more  important  history^ 
using  freely  and  often,  the  writer's  own  language 
instead  of  my  own." 

^  See  Record  for  March,  1872,  page  136. 


l62 


AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  RECORD. 


organ  manufactured  in  this  country,  but 
also  whether  there  is  any  authentic  account 
of  an  organ  having  been  constructed  in 
New  England  anterior  to  the  one  described 
l)y  Mr.   Shrigley." 

In  accordance  with  this  suggestion,  I 
have  promised  myself  for  a  long  time,  the 
pleasure  of  looking  up  the  subject  some- 
what, but  until  the  present,  have  had  no 
leisure  at  my  command. 

But  to  give  unity  to  the  subject,  permit 
ine  to  present  a  few  of  the  historical  data 
connected  with  organ-building  in- general, 
after  which  I  shall  gladly  confine  myself 
to  the  limits  of  the  Record's  suggestion. 

This  word  Organ,  in  the  Greek  opyw/w, 
in  the  Latin  orgauum,  means  an  instru- 
ment. Originally  it  was  used  to  indicate 
any  mechanical  device  of  implement ;  at 
a  later  period  any  kind  of  musical  instru- 
ment; afterwards  its  meaning  was  limited 
to  wind  instruments,  and  finally  "to  that 
Avhich  is,  par  excellence,  the  organ." 

So  wrapped  in  obscurity  is  its  early  his- 
tory, that  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  any  sat- 
isfactory account  of  its  origin.  Ctesibus' 
is  said  to  have  invented  the  hydraulicon,  a 
hydraulic  organ,  about  250  B.  C.  A 
carving  of  an  organ  on  an  ancient  monu- 
ment in  one  of  the  gardens  at  Rome,  is 
described  by  Mersenne,  as  nearly  resem- 
bling those  of  a  more  modern  age.  St. 
.\ugustine  speaks  in  his  writings,  of  an 
instrument  inflated  by  means  of  a  bellows. 
Pope  Vitalian  is  said  to  have  the  honor 
of  first  introducing  organs  into  Western 
Europe,  about  A.  D.  670.  The  one,  how- 
ever, upon  which  history  first  attaches 
with  a  firm  hand,  is  that  presented  by  the 
Greek  Emperor,  Constantine,  to  Pepin, 
King  of  the  Franks,  A.  D.  755. 

Even  before  the  loth  century,  England 
was  well  supplied  with  these  instruments. 
Bishop  Elfeg  gratified  his  pride  by  erect- 
ing, in  his  Cathedral  of  Winchester,  the 
largest  organ  in  the  country.  "  They 
were  still  very  rude  in  construction,  and 
.  of  limited  capacity.  The  keys  were  broad 
and    large,   and    it    appears,   were  to   be 

'  A  mathematician  of  Alexandria,  and  inventor 
of  the  pump,  water-clock,  and  other  mechanical 
devices.— [W.  J.  B.J 


Struck  with  the  fist.  The  pipes  were  of 
brass,  and  harsh  in  tone.  In  the  .rath 
century  the  compass  of  many  of  these  or- 
gans, perhaps  of  any,  did  not  exceed  12 
or  15  notes.  About  this  time  half-notes 
were  introduced  at  Venice." 

That  old  chronicler  of  men  and  man- 
ners, William  of  Malmsbury,  in  his  quaint 
language,  tells  of  an  organ  which  was 
played  by  wind  forced  through  brass  pipes 
by  means  of  hot  water.  This  evidently 
was  a  forerunner  of  the  modern  Calliope. 
In  1470,  pedals  were  invented  and  at- 
tached by  a  German  named  Bernhard,  and 
it  was  during  this  century,  the  15th,  that 
the  instrument  assumed  mainly  its  present 
form. 

Among  those  earliest  known  as  builders 
of  note,  was  the  family  of  Antegnati,  of 
Brescia,  in  the  15th  and  i6th  centuries; 
in  the  i8th,  Lerassi  of  Bergamo,  and  Cal- 
lido  of  Venice. 

The  organoclasts  in  1641  permitted 
very  few  instruments  in  England  to  escape 
their  ruthless  hands ;  and  at  the  Restora- 
tion, native  talent  being  exceedingly  scant, 
foreign  builders  were  invited  into  the  field 
and  undoubtedly  reaped  a  rich  harvest. 

This,  in,  brief,  is  the  historical  status  of 
the  instrument  in  the  old  world  up  to  the 
17th  and  i8th  centuries. 

In  what  I  have  to  say  in  respect  to  the 
history  of  its  beginning  and  progress  in 
this  country,  I  shall  deal  only  with  New 
England,  and  confine  myself  only  to  dis- 
cussing the  latter  part  of  tke  Record's 
request — to  wit,  "  AVhether  there  is  any  au- 
thentic account  of  an  organ  having  been 
constructed  in  New  England  anterior  to 
the  one  described  by  Mr.  Shrigley." 

The  same  spirit  that  actuated  the  fierce 
organoclasts  in  their  devastations,  un- 
doubtedly embarked  with  the  Puritans  in 
the  Mayflower,  and  presided  at  their 
counsels  after  they  landed  at  Plymouth. 
Being  dissenters  from  the  Established 
Church,  of  course  they  were  hostile  to  its 
government,  and  mode  of  worship ;  and 
upon  no  point  was  this  hostility  made  more 
manifest  than  in  the  use  of  the  organ  in 
Divine  worship.  It  was,  in  their  eyes,  an 
abomination,  as  being  a  vital  element  in 


AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  RECORD. 


163 


the  unholy  rites  of  Popery,  and  many 
years  elapsed  before  puritanical  prejudice, 
melting  away  beneath  the  genial  influences 
of  a  more  tolerant  spirit  and  a  higher  cul- 
ture, permitted  the  employment  of  the 
noble  instrument  to  enhance  the  dignity, 
and  add  fervor  to  their  worship  of  the 
Most  High. 

The  first  organized  body  of  any  denomi- 
nation founded  in  Boston,  was  of  that  sect 
known  as  Congregationalists,  in  1630.  It 
was  not  until  1688  that  the  foundation  of 
King's  Chapel'  was  laid  in  that  city.  This 
was  the  first  Episcopal  Church  in  Boston, 
and  probably  the  first  in  New  England. 
Of  this  latter  fact,  however,  we  are  not 
certain.  Of  course,  with  the  Established 
Church,  came  its  usual  forms  and  customs. 

The  records  of  King's  Chapel  verify 
this,  for  I  learn  therefrom,  that  Thomas 
Brattle'^  donated  to  that  church  an  organ, 
which  was  erected  in  17 14.  There  is  no 
description  of  the  instrument  given,  nor 
is  anything  said  as  to  where,  or  by  whom 
it  was  built,  but  without  doubt  it  was  of 
English  manufacture,  and,  I  presume,  the 
first  organ  used  in  New  England  for  church 
worship.  In  1756  the  society  of  King's 
Chapel  imported  a  much  larger  one  from 
London. 

Christ  Church^  was  founded  iii  1723, 
and  Trinity  in  1734,  this  latter  importing 
an  organ  from  London  in  1737.  It  ap- 
pears from  the  records  that  Christ  Church, 
in  1735,  was  offered  an  organ  at  Philadel- 
phia with  eight  stops,  but  did  not  purchase 
it.     In  1736,  a  Mr.  Clagget,  of  Newport, 

'  It  was  built  of  wood,  and  called  "  Queen's 
Chapel,"  during  Queen  Anne's  reign.  Upon  the 
accession  of  George  I.  it  was  called  King's  Chapel. 
In it  was  rebuilt  of  stone,  and  in  common  par- 
lance was  known  as  "  The  Stone  Chapel." — 
[W.  J.  B.] 

'■'  A  merchant  of  Boston,  principal  founder  of 
the  Brattle  .Street  Church,  and  brother  of  the  Rev. 
William  Brattle,  of  Cambridge,  Mass.  He  died  in 
I7i3.-[W.  J.  B.] 

^  Located  in  .Salem  street. 

*  The  name  is  written  "Johnston"  in  the  old 
family  Bible.  He  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  na- 
tive of  Boston,  and  was  born  about  1703.  He  re- 
sided for  many  years  in  his  own  dwelling,  nearly 


it  is  said,  offered  to  sell  the  society  an  or- 
gan for  ^400.  This  proposition  was  favor- 
ably considered,  and  being  examined  and 
approved  by  a  committee  for  that  purpose, 
it  was  finally  purchased  for  the  sum  of 
^300,  and  was  erected  in  October  of  that 
year.  Under  date  of  May  16,  1738,  a 
vote  is  found  recorded  giving  permission 
to  a  Mr.  Haliburton,  "  to  put  up  his  or- 
gan in  the  belfry  of  the  tower."  Tiie  in- 
ference is  that  it  was  for  his  own  pleasure, 
and  not  for  the  requirements  of  church 
service ;  and  further,  that  it  could  not 
have  been  a  chamber-organ,  else  it  would 
undoubtedly  have  found  room  in  his  own 
house.  From  the  language  of  the  minutes 
the  Newport  organ  was  the  first  used  in 
Christ  Church,  but  they  give  no  sign  as 
to  whether  this,  or  the  others  mentioned, 
were  of  English  or  American  manufacture. 
The  records  of  Christ  Church,  however, 
are  not  altogether  wanting  in  that  certain 
assurance  which  proves  the  Winchester 
organ  not  to  have  been,  by  many  years, 
the  first  built  in  New  England  ;  for  from 
these  silent  witnesses  I  am  enabled  to 
glean  an  account  of  the  first  American- 
built,  or  rather  New-England-built  organ, 
yet  made  known.  By  a  vote  taken  in 
April,  1752,  it  was  agreed  to  pay  Thomas 
Johnston*  ;^"io,  old  tenor,  for  three  months 
use  of  an  organ  of  his.  He  was  also  paid 
^30,  old  tenor,  for  removing  his  organ 
and  again  erecting  the  old  one  in  its  stead. 
From  this  it  would  appear  that  the  organ 
owned  by  the  church  had  been  taken 
down,  probably  for  repairs,  and  Johnston's 

opposite  the  tower  of  Brattle  Street  Church,  on  the 
west  side  of  Brattle  Square.  Before  he  became  an 
organ  builder,  he  was  an  ornamental  painter,  exer- 
cising his  art  upon  household  furniture  in  the  em- 
bossed or  raised  work  as  the  fashion  tlien  was.  lie 
also  painted  escutcheons,  or  family  coats-nf-arms,  to 
place  over  the  doors  of  the  aristocracy,  as  was  the 
custom  on  the  decease  of  the  head  of  the  family. 
He  engraved  music  on  copper,  and  printed  the  old 
tunes  to  be  bound  with  the  psalm  book.  The  re- 
cords of  the  Brattle  Street  Church  show  him  to  have 
been  one  of  their  leading  singers.  He  died  about 
1768.  His  son  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Revolution- 
ary army,  and  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Long 
Island.  He  commanded  at  one  time  the  only  ar- 
tillery company  in  Boston.  This  son  afterwards 
became  a  portrait  painter. — [W.  J.  B.] 


164 


AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  RECORD. 


put  up  in  its  place  for  the  time  being; 
but  when  renovated,  was  once  more  re- 
stored to  its  honorable  position.  The 
records  further  recite  that  xi  he  should  build 
a  new  organ  for  the  church,  this  sum  of 
;^30  was  to  be  deducted  from  the  price. 

Following  this  another  vote  appears, 
dated  August  11,  1752,  setting  forth  and 
confirming  an  agreement  that  ^' Mr.  Thos. 
Johnstoji  juight  build  an  organ,  with  an 
echo,  equal  to  that  of  Trinity  Church;" 
and  further  that  "he  should  be  paid  there- 
for two  hundred  pounds,  lawful  money;" 
also  that  "he  might  make  a  double  diapa- 
son in  the  treble."  Mr.  Johnston  com- 
pleted and  put  up  "this  instrument  during 
the  winter  of  1752-3,  and  it  remained  in 
use  until  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by  the 
British,'  when  this^and  the  other  Episco- 
pal churches  were  closed,  the  pastors  and 
their  flocks  making  their  hegira  with  the 
English  troops.  Before  they  left,  how- 
ever, the  pipes  were  taken  out  of  this  or- 
gan and  concealed  in  a  place  of  safety. 
On  the  return  of  peace,  Christ  Church 
once  more  opened  its  portals.  Public 
worship  was  renewed,  and  the  long-hidden 
pipes,  or  such  as  had  escaped  the  ravages 
of  the  time,  were  replaced  in  their  proper 
positions,  and  the  old  organ  again  pealed 
forth  its  anthems  of  joy  and  praise. 

A  description  of  this  instrument  still  ex- 
tant, recites  that  "the  great  organ  con- 
tained seven  stops,  viz.,  stopt  diapason, 
open  diapason,  principal,  twelfth,  fifteenth, 
sesquialter  of  three  ranks,  flute  and 
trumpet  ;  and  that  the  swell,  or  echo, 
contained  four  stops,  viz.,  stopt  diapason, 
principal,  flute  and  trumpet.  The  three 
first  stops  of  the  swell  were  carried  through 
in  the  base,  outside  of  the  swell-box,  and 
thus  formed  a  choir-organ  and  swell  com- 
bined. 

In  1805  it  received  a  new  dress,  and  in 
1807  or  1808,  Mr.  William  M.  Goodrich,' 
by  a  vote  of  the  society,  was  engaged  to 
repair  the  instrument.     With  this  patching 

^  March  17th,  1776. 

^  Another  piiper  containing  some  account  of  Mr. 
Goodrich  will  appear  in  a  future  number  of  the 
Recorb.— [W.  J.  B.] 


and  mending  the  Church  was  satisfied  un- 
til 1821,  when  by  vote,  Mr.  Goodrich  was 
employed  to  build  a  new  organ  except  the 
case,  receiving  twelve  hundred  dollars 
therefor  and  the  old  organ.  Mr.  John- 
ston's handiwork  was  demolished,  except 
some  of  the  wooden  pipes  which  were  said 
to  have  been  put  in  a  chamber  organ  used 
ip  the  Congregational  church  at  Cam- 
bridgeport. 

In  addition  to  this  organ  for  Christ 
Church,  which,  I  think,  may  be  regarded 
as  the  first  built  in  New  England,  Mr. 
Johnston,  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  William 
M.  Goodrich,  is  said  to  have  built  three 
other  organs,  one  for  Salem,  one  for  Ports- 
mouth, and  one  for  Marblehead,  nearly 
like  it,  at  about  the  same  period.  In  design 
and  execution  they  were  constructed  after 
the  Trinity  Church  instrument. 

It  is  not  known  upon  what  authority 
Mr.  Goodrich  based  this  assertion,  but  it 
is  barely  possible  he  was  misinformed  as  to 
a  portion  of  his  facts.  Only  as  to  a  part, 
however,  for  thirty-five  or  forty  years  ago, 
the  Messrs.  Hook,  organ  builders  at  Bos- 
ton, had  in  their  possession  the  remains  of 
the  organ  constructed  by  Johnston  for  the 
Episcopal  church  at  Salem,  Massachusetts. 
On  the  front  board,  above  the  keys,  was 
the  following  inscription,  in  German  text, 
cut  in  ivory  : — 

"  Sfjomas  3ot)nston  $uii,  Boston ;  Nob-Stn- 
glorum,  1754.." 

Mr.  Hook,  in  describing  this  instrument, 
stated  that  it  had  but  one  row  of  keys  and 
only  six  stops,  viz.  Stopt  diapason,  open 
diapason  treble,  principal,  flute,  12th  and 
15th.  In  the  course  of  time,  a  new  in- 
strument was  built  for  the  Salem  church, 
and  Johnston's  organ  was  removed  to 
Marblehead  and  erected  in  the  Episcopal 
church  at  that  place.  This  took  the  place 
of  an  instrument  (by  whom  built  is  un- 
known), removed  for  its  unworthiness. 
After  many  years,  Mr.  Hook  constructed 
a  new  organ  for  the  Marblehead  church, 
removing,  and  retaining  in  his  possession, 
the  old  Salem  organ.  If  the  first  instru- 
ment at  Marblehead  was  not  built  by  John- 
ston, it  is  a  fair  inference  that  Mr.  Good- 


AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  RECORD. 


165 


rich  may  have  obtained  his  impressions 
that  Johnston  did  build  and  erect  an  organ 
for  that  church,  from  the  fact  that  the  one 
at  Salem  was  transferred  to  Marblehead, 
and  remained  in  use  for  many  years.  There 
is  no  certain  proof  that  Mr.  Johnston  ever 
constructed  an  organ  for  any  church  at 
Portsmouth.  The  Episcopal  edifice  in  that 
place  was  destroyed  by  fire  about  the  be- 
ginning of  this  century,  burying  in  its 
ruins  any  evidence  that  may  have  existed, 
so  far  as  I  can  learn,  relating  to  its  organ, 
if  there  was  one  in  that  church.  About 
1768,  Mr.  Johnston  was  engaged  in  the 
construction  of  another  organ,  but  deceased 
before  his  work  was  completed.  Doubt- 
less he  built  many  other  instruments  than 
those  mentioned  ;  and  it  is  possible  that 
further  research  may  bring  to  light  their 
history,  but  I  have  found  no  facts  relative 
to  any  save  those  noticed  in  this  paper. 

The  question,  however,  is  not.  how  many 
but  7ah/:n  he  built  his  organs ;  and  on  this 
point  of  priority,  I  think  the  honor  claimed 
for  him  is  founded  in  justice,  that  he  was  the 
first  to  buUd  church  organs  in  New  England, 
and  to  follow  it  as  a  legitimate  business. 

In  1786,  Josiah  Leavitt' essayed  his  skill 
in  building  a  chamber  organ  with  four 
stops.  He  had  accomplished  but  little, 
when  he  secured  the  services  of  Mr.  Eli 
Bruce^  to  assist  him  in  its  completion. 
Most  of  the  pipes  were  of  wood.  Several 
years  after  this  he  was  commissioned  to  re- 
pair the  organ  in  the  Episcopal  church  at 
Cambridge,  which  was  done  with  the  assis- 
tance of  Mr.  Bruce,  to  whom  he  had  ap- 
plied, at  once,  as  an  auxiliary.  This  or- 
gan was  of  English  origin,  and  has  a  his- 
tory which  should  ever  keep  its  memory 
green.  Having  for  years  poured  forth  its 
harmony  in  the  worship  of  God,  wherein 
petitions  were  offered   for  the  royalty  of 

*  Mr.  Leavitt  was  a  native  of  Hingham,  Mass. 
He  studied  medicine,  and  at  one  time,  1786,  was  a 
practising  physician  in  the  town  of  Sterling,  Mass. 
In  bis  youth  he  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  Mr.  John- 
ston's shop,  and  thus  early  acquired  a  fondness  for, 
and  a  slight  knowledge  of  the  art  of  organ  build- 
ing. Following  the  completion  of,  this  instrument 
in  1786,  Dr.  Leavitt  removed  to  the  stati;  of  Maine, 
residing  there  about  five  years,  and  from  thence 
came  to  Boston.— [W.  J.  B.] 


England,  with  the  first  echo  of  the  Liberty 
bell  its  tones  were  changed  to  the  clear, 
sharp  ring  of  musket-balls  made  from  its 
metal  pipes  melted  down  by  the  American 
patriots.  About  1790  the  church  was  re- 
paired, and  with  it  the  organ  as  I  have 
stated. 

Soon  after,  Mr.  Leavitt  was  engaged  in  a 
more  extensive  piece  of  work  of  the  same 
nature — the  building  of  an  organ.  An 
Episcopal  church  was  about  to  be  estab- 
lished at  Dedham,  Massachusetts,  and  by 
the  records  it  appears  to  have  been  organ- 
ized in  1792.  A  vote  of  the  society  author- 
ized "Rev.  W.  Montague  to  procure  an 
organ,  the  price  not  to  exceed  one  hundred 
pounds,"  and  to  be  "put  up  previous  to 
Easter  Sunday,  1792."  The  minutes  of 
Augusts,  ^795'  recite  "the  money  paid 
to  Dr.  Leavitt,  for  building  the  organ, 
putting  it  up  in  the  church,  &c."  The 
organ  thus  constructed  by  him  was  a  small 
instrument,  having  but  one  row  of  keys. 

The  same  gentleman  was  commissioned, 
in  1792,  to  put  up  a  new  organ  imported 
for  the  Brattle  Street  Church.  Of  this  in- 
strument I  shall  speak  again. 

Dr.  Leavitt  also  built  the  organ  whicli 
was,  for  a  long  period,  used  in  the  First 
Universalist  Church  of  Boston.  The  society 
purchased  it  about  1793..  It  possessed  but 
one  row  of  keys,  and  the  following  stops : 
Open  diapason,  stopt  diapason,  principal, 
12th,  15th,  sesquialter,  and  trumpet.  It 
finally  found  its  way  into  Vermont,  from 
the  auction  room.  At  a  later  period,  the 
precise  date  of  which  I  am  not  able  to 
give,  Dr.  Leavitt  constructed  a  similar  in- 
strument for  the  old  Congregational  church 
at  Newburyport.  It  afterwards  gave  place 
to  one  built  by  a  Mr.  Alley,  of  that  town. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  Mr.  Eli 
Bruce.     From  drawings   which    he  made 

'■^  Eli  Bruce  was  born  at  Templeton,  Mass.,  but 
of  the  date  of  his  birth  I  am  ignorant.  He  was 
bred  to  the  cooperage  trade  with  his  father,  but  be-  ' 
ing  an  ingenious  mechanic,  made  himself  master 
of  many  other  practical  arts.  He  was  a  good  ma- 
son, made  clocks,  repaired  and  cleaned  watches, 
constructed  machmery.^and  developed  many  useful 
inventions  ;  among  which  were  two  machines,  one 
for  making  pins,  and  the  other  for  forming  and  cut- 
ting card-teeth. — [W.  J.  B.] 


1 66 


amb:rican  historical  record. 


while  with  Dr.  Leavitt  in  1786,  he  endeav- 
ored to  build  an  organ  similar  to  Leavitt's, 
but  being  dissuaded  by  his  friends  he  laid 
the  work  aside  for  some  years — in  fact, 
until  after  his  return  from  Cambridge, 
when  he  determined  to  complete  it,  which 
he  did  with  the  aid  of  a  Mr.  Howe,  of 
Marlborough.  It  is  said  to  have  contained 
stopt  diapason  and  principal,  both  of  wood, 
and  1 2th  and  15th  composed  of  wood  and 
metal.  About  1830,  the  Congregational 
church  in  Templeton  divided  into  the  Or- 
thodox and  Unitarian  societies,  the  former 
of  which  secured  the  organ  built  by  Mr. 
Bruce,  and  erected  it  in  their  church  edi- 
fice. 

I  have  now  reached  a  name,  doubly  in- 
teresting from  tnQj prominence  given  to  it 
in  Mr.  Shrigley's  letter — that  of  Mr.  Henry 
Pratt.'  Mr.  Shrigley's  "informant  is  Mr. 
Julius  L.  Pratt,  son  of  Henry,"  who,  he 
says,  "was born  and  resided  here"  (inWin- 
chester)  "  until  his  death,  in  1841."  And 
further,  that  Henry  Pratt,  "in  the  year 
1788,  when  a  young  man,  and  whilst  assist- 
ing his  father  in  building  a  church  in  Hud- 
son, N.  Y.,  obtained  drafts  of  an  organ, 
then  in  use  in  another  church  in  Hudson, 
and  which  had  been  brought  from  Eng- 
land." The  letter  also  recites  that  "upon 
his  return  home,  Henry  made  known  his 
acquisition  to  Captain  Samuel  Smith,  a 
wealthy  and  influential  citizen  of  Winches- 
ter," who  made  proposals  to  young  Pratt 
to  build  an  organ.  The  terms  being  satis- 
factory, "thereupon  Mr.  Pratt  commenced 
the  work,  and  in  the  succeeding  summer 
[1789],  he  completed  the  organ." 

The  general  tenor  of  my  information 
concerning  this  worthy  gentleman,  agrees 
with  that  contained  in  Mr.  Shrigley's  let- 
ter, but  varies  decidedly  in  some  of  the 
details.  As  to  his  birth,  the  record  in  my 
possession,  which  appears  to  be  founded 
upon  direct  statements  made  by  Mr.  Henry 
Pratt  himself,  asserts  that  he  was  born,  not 


1  Henry  Pratt  was  a  carpenter,  being  taught  that 
trade  wilh  his  father.  He  possessed  much  ingenu- 
ity, employing  his  leisure  hours  in  making  wooden 
clocks,  fifes,  violins,  surgical  implements,  tools  for 
his  own  use,  &c.  He  was  extremely  fond  of  music. 
fW.  J.  B.l 


in  Winchester,  but  in  Wrentham,  Mass., 
in  1 77 1 — nineteen  years  after  Mr.  Johnston 
had  completed  his  first  organ.  He  was 
not  a  resident  of  Winchester  until  1792, 
his  father  and  family  having  left  Wrentham 
and  settled  in  the  first-named  place  in  that 
year.  Mr.  Magoun,  in  a  communication 
to  the  Record,  under  date  of  November, 
1872  (page  510),  clearly  refutes  the  state- 
ment that  Henry  Pratt  obtained  his  drafts 
of  an  organ  from  any  church  in  Hudson. 
He  says  :  "In  181 1  the  first  organ  used 
in  any  church  in  this  city  was  procured  by 
the  last-named  society  (Episcopalian)  ;  and 
no  other  church  in  the  city  used  an  organ 
until  more  than  twenty-five  years  after  that 
time." 

The  paper  before  me  furnishes  a  clue  to 
this  statement,  and  adds  strength  to  Mr. 
Magoun's  suggestion  that  "  Mr.  Shrigley's 
informant  must  have  been  in  error,  both  as 
to  date  and  place."  Mr.  Pratt  is  said  to 
have  "  first  undertook  to  make  a  small  or- 
gan in  1792,"  the  first  year  of  his  resi- 
dence at  Winchester.  But  it  was  not  until 
1798  that  Capt.  Smith,  acquainted,  doubt- 
less, with  Mr.  Pratt's  musical  proclivities, 
proposed  to  him  to  build  an  organ.  Mr. 
Pratt,  at  this  time,  "  had  never  seen  the 
interior  of  an  organ,  and  knew  nothing 
more  of  its  construction  than  what  he  had 
learned  from  an  old  dictionary  of  Arts  and 
Sciences."  He  soon  obtained  a  more 
practical  knowledge,  however,  from  a  visit 
he  made  to  Claremont,  New  Hampshire, 
and  an  examination,  while  there,  of  the 
organ  in  use  in  the  Episcopal  church. 
This  instrument  was  built  by  one  Newton, 
at  Norwich,  Vermont.  The  organist  as- 
sisted and  explained  many  things  to  him, 
and  he  was  thus  enabled  to  make  drafts  and 
take  minutes  of  the  parts.  Eli  Bruce, 
Esq.,  before  referred  to,  placed  in  his 
hands  a  scale  of  the  length  and  diameter 
of  wooden  pipes.  Mr.  Pratt  agreed  to 
Captain  Smith's  proposal,  and  with  this 
limited  amount  of  knowledge  and  skill, 
but  with  much  ingenuity,  he  overcame  all 
obstacles,  and  turned  out  an  instrument 
superior  in  all  points  to  the  one  he  had 
taken  as  a  model.  Mr.  Shrigley's  letter 
states  that  of  two  of  the  stops,  "the  i2tb 


AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  RECORD. 


167 


has  fifteen,  and  the  15th  has  twenty-nine 
metal  pipes  viade  from  the  lead  lining  of  tea 
chests.'"  Was  "  the  art  of  casting  or  run- 
ning out  the  sheets  of  metal  for  pipe"  then 
known  in  New  England  ?  My  record  says 
not ;  but  it  does  inform  me  that  Mr.  Wil- 
liam M.  Goodrich,  while  a  resident  in  the 
family  of  Captain  Joshua  Witherle,  of  Bos- 
ton, a  pewterer  and  worker  in  brass,  ob- 
tained a  practical  knowledge  of  it  from 
him.  Previous  to  this,  and  from  ignorance 
of  the  art,  tea-chest  lead  had  been  used. 
It  was  too  thin  and  frail,  however,  to  be 
used  profitably  in  pipes  exceeding  six  or 
eight  inches  in  length. 

Mr.  Pratt  built  many  organs  after  this, 
remaining  actively  engaged  in  the  business 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Among 
these  was  another,  about  1801,  for  his  old 
patron.  Captain  Samuel  Smith,  who  pre- 
sented it  to  a  church  in  Northfield,  Mass., 
and  one  for  Christ  Church,  at  Hudson, 
N.  Y.  This  was  probably  the  organ  re- 
ferred to  by  Mr.  Magoun,  as  being  the 
first  in  use  in  that  city,  the  origin  of  which 
was  unknown  to  him.  Altogether,  Mr. 
Pratt  constructed  twenty-three  church  or- 
gans and  nineteen  chamber  organs.  They 
were  all  of  small  size,  possessed  but  one 
row  of  keys,  and  from  four  to  six  stops. 
He  did  not  hesitate,  however,  to  express 
"  full  confidence  in  his  ability  to  con- 
struct instruments  of  any  desirable  magni- 
tude." 

Mr.  William  M.  Goodrich  comes  next 
in  order,  but  designing  to  speak  of  him 
somewhat  more  fiiUy  in  a  future  paper,  I 
desire  to  say  now  only  so  much  as  shall 
keep  the  chronology  intelligible.  About 
the  year  1800,  Mr.  Goodrich  commenced 
to  learn  the  business  of  organ  building  in 
the  shop  of  Mr.  Pratt,  at  Winchester,  but 
remained  there  only  about  eight  months. 
From  there  he  proceeded  to  Boston,  being 
then  about  twenty-four  years  of  age,  and 
shortly  after  became  a  resident  in  Captain 
Witherle's  family.  He  made  such  good 
use  of  the  scanty  knowledge  gained  while 
in  Mr.  Pratt's  employ,  aided  by  such  in- 
formation as  he  was  enabled  to  gather  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  from  Captain  Witherle 
and  other  friends,  he  succeeded,  in  1805, 


in  building  an  organ  for  the  Catholic 
church  in  Boston.  From  this  period,  the 
business  was  pursued  diligently  by  Mr. 
Goodrich  until  the  time  of  his  death.  The 
one  organ  which  he  regarded  as  his  master- 
piece, was  that  erected  in  St.  Paul's  Church 
in  Boston,  about  1826-7.  At  that  time  it 
was  the  largest  organ  in  New  England. 
Interesting,  as  compared  with  the  Christ 
Church  organ,  built  by  Thomas  Johnston, 
in  1752,  I  give  a  schedule  of  its  twenty-six 
stops.  Great  organ — first  diapason,  sec- 
ond diapason,  stopt  diapason,  first  princi- 
pal, second  principal,  12th,  15th,  tierce  (or 
17th),  cornet  of  five  ranks,  sesquialter  of 
three  ranks,  first  trumpet,  second  trumpet. 
Choir  organ — open  diapason,  stopt  diapa- 
son, principal,  12th,  15th,  dulciana,  flute. 
Swell- — open  diapason,  stopt  diapason, 
principal,  cornet  of  three  ranks,  trumpet, 
hautboy.  Pedals — open  double-diapason 
bass  ;  seventeen  large  wooden  pipes,  ex- 
tending from  B  down  to  C,  below  the  man- 
ual keys.  The  total  number  of  pipes  was 
about  seventeen  hundred,  the  largest  one 
of  metal,  GG  open,  being  nine  inches 
in  diameter,  and  weighing  ninety-three 
pounds. 

Following  William  M.  Goodrich,  came 
his  brother,  Ebenezer  Goodrich,  who,  leav- 
ing Templeton  about  the  time  he  reached 
his  majority,  came  to  Boston  and  entered 
the  shop  of  his  brother  in  1804.  In  1807 
he  started  business  on  his  own  account.  He 
built  many  church  organs,  but  confined  his 
attention  principally  to  the  manufacture 
of  chamber  organs.  '  For  the  purposes  of 
his  business,  he  occupied,  at  various  times, 
premises  in  different  localities.  He  com- 
menced operations  in  Cambridge  street, 
Boston.  In  1808-9  he  removed  to  Cam- 
bridgeport,  where  Dr.  Flagg  fitted  up  a 
shop  for  him;  about  181 1  he  returned  to 
Boston  and  started  on  Water  street,  remain- 
ing here  eight  years  ;  from  there  he  went 
to  Federal  street,  and  shortly  after  into  the 
shop  on  Pemberton's  Hill,  opposite  old 
Concert  Hall.  The  organs  put  up  in  the 
Unitarian  churches  at  Exeter,  New  Bed- 
ford, Northampton,  and  Nashua;  in  the 
Orthodox  Congregational  churches  at  Ports- 
mouth, N.  H.,  and  Dover,  N.  H.,  and  the 


i68 


AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  RECORD. 


one  in  the  Green  Street  Church,  Boston, 
(Dr.  Jenk's),  were  constructed  by  him. 

From  the  records  I  have  obtained, 
Thomas  Appleton'  appears  to  have  been 
the  next  manufacturer  of  organs.  He 
learned  the  business  under  Mr.  William 
M.  Goodrich,  continuing  with  him  until 
the  close  of  1811,  when  he  formed  a  co- 
partnership with  a  Mr.  Babcock  and  two 
gentlemen  of  the  name  of  Hayt,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Hayts,  Babcock  &  Appleton. 
They  commenced  operations  in  Milk  street, 
nearly  opposite  the  Old  South  Church. 
Mr.  William  M.  Goodrich  was  shortly 
afterwards  employed  by  the  firm  to  voice 
and  tune  their  instruments.  The  company 
manufactured  many  organs,  large  and  small. 
About  1 81 5,  the  firm  became  embarrassed 
and  transferred  their  property  to  a  new 
concern,  styled  Mackay  &  Co.,  in  which 
Mr.  Appleton  remained,  and  Mr.  Good- 
rich became  an  active  partner.  The  new 
firm  carried  on  the  business  about  five, 
years  longer,  meeting  many  reverses,  and 
finally  dissolved. 

Following  this  separation  at  the  close  of 
1820,  Mr.  Appleton  engaged  a  building  in 
Hawley  Place,  and  conducted  the  business 
alone  ;  afterwards  at  a  place  just  north  of 
Boylston  Market,  where  he  remained  many 
years,  and  from  thence  to  the  Cambridge 
street  market  house.  He  manufactured 
largely  :  his  organs  being  found  in  some 
of  the  New  England  and  other  states  of 
the  Union.  For  the  satisfaction  of  those 
interested,  I  have  appended  a  list  of  many 


'  Thomas  Appleton  had  served  an  apprentice- 
ship with  a  cabinet  maker.  Ill  health  forbade  his 
going  at  once  into  business,  and  he  attempted  to 
dispose  of  his  machineiy,  a  part  of  which  Mr. 
Goodrich  purchased,  with  whom  Mr.  Appleton  thus 
became  acquainted.  About  1807  he  was  induced 
to  enter  Mr.  Goodrich's  shop,  and  remained  nearly 
four  years.  The  following  is  a  list  of  many  of  the 
organs  built  by  Mr.  Appleton  after  he  commenced 
business  for  himself  in  1820: — 

Dr.  Porter's  church,  Roxbury;  Dr.  Nichol's 
church,  Portland,  Me. ;  Mr.  Robbin's  church,  for- 
merly Mr.  Ware's,  Boston  ;  Mr.  Parkman's  church, 
near  the  Old  South,  Boston;  Unitarian  church, 
Leominster ;  Baptist  church,  Cambridgeport ;  Mr. 
Gilman's  church,  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  Mr.  Wilson's 
church,  Providence,  R.  I. ;  Mr.  Colman's  church, 
Salem ;  Uniyersalist  church,  Gloucester ;  Mr.  Bar- 


of    them   in  a   note  at  the   foot    of    the 
page. 

In  addition  to  these  pioneer  builders, 
others  appear  at  and  about  this  time, 
among  whom  the  names  of  Messrs.  E.  & 
G.  G.  Hook,  Josiah  H.  AVare,  Stevens  & 
Gayetty  and  Mr.  Alley,  are  conspicuous. 
Of  these,  Mr.  E.  Hook  and  Mr.  Gayetty 
were  apprentices,  and  Mr.  Ware  and  Mr. 
Stevens  journeymen,  with  Mr.  William 
M.  Goodrich.  The  first-named  firm,  with 
Messrs.  Stevens  &  Gayetty,  manufactured 
at  Boston,  Mr.  Ware  at  Medway,  and  Mr. 
Alley  at  Newburyport. 

Mr.  E.  Hook,  after  leaving  Mr.  Good- 
rich, commenced  manufacturing  in  a  small 
way,  with  his  brother,  at  Salem,  his  native 
place.  His  first  effort  was  a  chamber  or- 
gan for  W.  W.  Clapp,  of  Boston.  While 
there  they  constructed  fourteen  chamber 
organs,  and  five  church  organs  of  small 
size.  About  1831  the  brothers  removed  to 
Boston,  occupying  premises  near  the  foot 
of  Friend  street.  Here,  among  others, 
they  built  instruments  for  the  New  South 
Church  at  Salem  ;  Christ's  Church  at  Nor- 
wich, Conn. ;  Mr.  Barry's  Church  at  Low- 
ell ;  Mr.  Thomas's  Church  at  Concord,  N. 
H. ;  the  First  Baptist  Church  at  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.  ;  and  Mr.  Kingsley's  Musical 
Academy  at  Boston.  The  Providence  or- 
gan contained  twenty-five  stops  and  about 
seventeen  hundred  pipes. 

Among  the  organs  completed  by  Mr. 
Ware,  was  one  upon  which  Mr.  William 
M.  Goodrich  was  engaged  almost  to  the 

ritt's  church,  Chamber  street,  Boston ;  First  Unita- 
rian (Mr.  Ware's),  New  York  ;  Mr.  Pierpont's 
church,  HoUis  street,  Boston;  Mr.  Ripley's  church, 
Purchase  street,  Boston  ;  Dr.  Beecher's,  Hanover 
street,  Boston ;  Mr.  Parkman's  church,  Hanover 
street,  Boston ;  North  Church,  Hartford,  Conn. ; 
Second  Unitarian  Church  (Mr.  Lunt's),  New  York  ; 
Presbyterian  Church,  Charleston  S.  C. ;  Mr.  Far- 
ley's church,  Westminster  street.  Providence,  R.  I.; 
Dr.  Sharp's  church,  Third  Baptist,  Boston  ;  Rich- 
mond street  Church,  Providence,  R.  I. ;  South 
Church,  Hartford,  Conn. ;  Mr.  Blogden's  church, 
Salem  street,  Boston  ;  Unitarian  church,  Taunton  ; 
Bowdoin  Street  Church,  Boston  ;  Mr.  Mott's  church, 
South  End,  Boston ;  Dr.  Cadman's  church,  Dor- 
chester ;  First  Baptist  Church,  New  Bedford ;  First 
Baptist  Church,  Salem.— [W.  J.  B.] 


AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  RECORD. 


169 


day  of  his  death.  It  was  put  up  for  a  time 
in  the  Medway  church.  He  also  built  an 
organ  for  Rev.  Mr.  Twining's  church  at 
Lowell. 

My  record  gives  no  date  or  destination 
of  the  instruments  manufactured  by  Messrs. 
Stevens  or  Gayetty,  but  presages  for  them,' 
being  "excellent  workmen,"  honor  and 
profit  as  the  successors  of  William  M. 
Goodrich. 

Mr.  Alley  had  manufactured  organs  in 
Maine,  but  removing  to  Newburyport,  car- 
ried on  the  business  there.  One  of  the 
products  of  his  skill  was  the  large  instru- 
ment erected  by  him  in  Mr.  Fox's  church, 
in  that  place. 

There  were,  doubtless,  others  through- 
out New  England  who  sought,  in  a  small 
way,  to  establish  the  art  and  cultivate  the 
public  taste  in  favor  of'this  grand  adjunct 
to  Divine  worship,  but  their  names  and  la- 
bors are  buried  in  obscurity,  unless  the 
discussion  of  this  subject  shall  bring  them 
to  light,  and  place  their  names  upon  the 
pages  of  the  Record.  The  principal  build- 
ers, however,  in  New  England,  if  not  in 
the  country,  during  the  early  years  of  its 
history,  with  a  brief  description  of  the  in- 
struments and  their  location,  will  be  found, 
I  think,  recorded  in  this  paper. 

There  are,  doubtless,  in  this  paper, 
many  interesting  facts  worthy  of  note  and 
remembrance,  which  those  delighting  in 
things  old  and  rare,  will  read  with  the  same 
pleasure  I  experienced  in  collating  them  ; 
but  none  will  be  read  with  a  keener  relish 
than  that  which  is  the  key-note  of  the  dis- 
cussion— demonstrating  the  building  of  an 
organ  in  New  England  prior  to  that 
claimed  for  Mr.  Pratt.  If  any  account  of 
an  earlier  exists,  with  a  qtiantum  sufficit  of 
proof,  then  I  shall  be  among  the  first  to 
transfer  my  allegiance  from  the  old  Christ 
Church  organ  of  1752,  and  remove  the 
palm  from  that  old  pioneer,  Thomas  John- 
ston, Esq. 


The  following  are  copies  of  letters  re- 
ceived by  the  author,  on  the  subject  of  this 
paper : — 


Aihol  Depof,  Mass.,  Dec.  \st  1873. 
Mr.  Bruce: — 

Your  letter  of  the  24th  November  is  re- 
ceived, and  in  reply  will  say  that  the  or- 
gan my  father  built  for  Captain  Smith, 
was  finished  in  1799.  As  I  have  learned 
the  story,  my  grandfather  was  a  carpenter 
and  joiner,  and  most  of  his  work  was  on 
meeting-houses,  which  he  built  in  various 
places  about  the  country.  My  father 
worked  with  him  doing  the  joining.  They 
were  at  work  on  one  in  Hudson,  New 
York,  where  there  was  an  organ,  in  one  of 
the  churches,  built  in  England.  My  father 
got  acquainted  with  the  organist,  and  ob- 
tained permission  to  make  a  draft  of  the 
instrument,  which  he  did,  and  came  home 
and  made  one  like  it.  He  built  another 
for  the  same  man  (like  the  first  one), 
which  Captain  Smith  gave  to  the  town  of 
Northfield,  Massachusetts.  He  gave  the 
first  one  to  the  town  of  Winchester,  New 
Hampshire,  and  also  a  bell  to  each  town. 
He  finally  died  a  town-pauper  in  Win- 
chester. 

My  father's  native  place  is  Wrentham, 
Massachusetts. 

Respectfully  yours, 

J.  L.  Pratt. 

82  Mf.   Vernon  Street, 
Bostoji,  Dec.  15th  1873. 
Dear  Sir : — 

I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  loth, 
and  with  the  clue  you  gave  me,  I  have 
searched  carefully  our  Vestry  Records,  and 
the  old  massive  Account  Book  of  former 
Parish  Treasurer,  and  have  compiled  the 
following  facts:  — 

April  15,  1752.  The  Vestry  allowed 
^30  to  Thomas  Johnston  for  taking  down 
the  old  organ  and  putting  it  up  again,  pro- 
viding he  allow  the  same  out  of  the  cost 
of  one  which  he  was  to  make. 

August  II,  1752.  The  Vestry  voted 
that  Thomas  Johnston  make  an  organ  for 
^200. 

The  Ledger  under  date  of  1759  gives 
the  terms  of  the  contract — "to  make  an 
organ  of  the  size  of  that  in  Trinity  Church, 
the  stops  equal  in   number,  with  an  ad- 


170 


AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  RECORD. 


dition  of  the  great  open  diapason  in  the 
great  organ,  and  the  treble  of  a  metal 
open  diapason  in  the  echo-box,  exclusive 
of  the  case,  for  ^200.  Painting,  &c., 
amounted  to  _;^i  2.  6.  8.  Total,  ^212.  6.  8. 
The  second  organ  appears  to  have  taken 
the  place  of  that   brought  from   Newport, 


and  according  to  Dr.  Easton's  Centennial, 
it  was  rebuilt  in  the  interior  by  Mr.  Good- 
rich, just  before  1823. 
I  am  very  truly  yours, 

Henry  Borroughs, 
Rector  of  Christ  Church. 
•  Mr.  W.  J.  Bruce. 


MONUMENT  ON  KING'S  MOUNTAIN  BATTLEGROUND. 


MONUMENT  ON  BATTLE-GROUND. 


In  the  Record  for  December,  1872,  is 
an  excellent  picture  of  the  place  on  the 
King's  Mountain  battle-ground,  in  the 
north-western  part  of  South  Carolina, 
where  a  monument  was  erected  to  the 
memory  of  some  patriots  who  were  killed 
in  the  battle  fought  there,  and  also 
to  commemorate  the  fact  that  there  the 
British  leader.  Colonel  Ferguson,  was 
killed.  The  writer  of  the  article  accom- 
panying that  picture,  says  he  visited  the 
spot  and  made  the  sketch  from  which  the 
engraving  in  the  Record  was  copied, 
early  in  1849,  ^"'^  presents  a  copy  of  the 
inscription   on   the  stone.      I  was  on  the 


same  spot  a  few  years  afterward,  where  I 
found  the  monument  and  the  tidip-tree  as 
therein  described,  yet  standing  ;  and  about 
three  years  ago.  I  learned  from  a  friend 
who  was  there  that  both  yet  remained. 
At  the  time  of  my  visit,  I  made  a  rough 
drawing  of  the  monument,  which  I  now 
send  you.  It  has  been  "  chipped  "  on  the 
back,  by  an  occasional  relic-seeker  who 
has  wnndered  into  that  lonely  region,  far 
away  from  all  routes  of  general  travel. 

The  battle  that  was  fought  there,  was  a 
very  important  one  in  its  bearings  upon 
the  future  of  the  old  war  for  indepen- 
dence.     Cornwailis   was,   at     that    time. 


A  Work  ol   Rare  Interest  and  Value  I 

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THE  AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  RECORD. 

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EDITED  BY  BENSON  J.  LOSSING,  LL.  D. 

The  third  volume  of  the  AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  RECORD  was  commenced  on  the  first 
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